


better than a happy birthday song

by Lavende



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Sibling Bonding, Twinyards bonding, dont worry andreil kiss, happy birthday to my favorite twins, i wrote this way too quickly today, nicky is trying, soft, they play the piano, wait for the cake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27391372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavende/pseuds/Lavende
Summary: “Neil is with Nicky, they probably went to buy a cake with some stupid hope we won’t notice it,” Andrew answers Aaron’s silent question, hesitating a second before joining his brother beside the large instrument that takes the space between the window and the other wall.(Basically, Andrew and Aaron play the piano on their birthday, waiting for Neil and Nicky to come back.)
Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 7
Kudos: 124





	better than a happy birthday song

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I can't believe this is the second twinyards I post in a row haha. I wanted to celebrate their birthday and since I didn't write in a month it seemed like a good excuse to write this today. It's short but I hope you will enjoy it!

Unlike what he expects, it isn’t silence that meets Andrew when he enters the Columbia house, but rather the soft sound of piano keys being used. It has been a very long time since the last time he heard someone play here, and he can’t help but stop in the entrance for a few minutes, trying to recognize the song that comes from the living room. 

Andrew isn’t surprised to be unable to do it. Aaron and himself always had a thing for unknown songs, the ones without a music sheet that they could just learn by listening or by putting them in those generators. If they had to be playing, at least they wouldn’t go with the boring classic stuff. 

Finally, Andrew removes his shoes to get into the living room. His steps must have been slightly too loud, because Aaron stops playing before his twin can even reach the room. When Andrew enters, Aaron has already turned around on the bench, and is showing the piano his back. 

His twin’s expression is slightly guarded, probably unsure of what Andrew’s reaction to this reminder of what they used to do together a few years ago will be. 

Leaning against the wall, Andrew raises an eyebrow. “I thought it would be out of tune by now,” he thinks aloud. iIf he can’t remember touching these keys in the past 3 years, it’s most probably because he hasn’t.

Aaron opens his mouth and closes it again, glancing toward the hallway. “Nicky hired someone to come sometimes to tune it, something about hoping it will get used again.” He shrugs after his answer, but Andrew can easily see the tension in his shoulders.

“Neil is with Nicky, they probably went to buy a cake with some stupid hope we won’t notice it,” Andrew answers Aaron’s silent question, hesitating a second before joining his brother beside the large instrument that takes the space between the window and the other wall. 

There is no doubt that Andrew would still be able to play most songs he learned younger trying to be better than Aaron. It’s something that Nicky said he found in a magazine, but Andrew suspects Nicky researched ways to help Aaron cope with his addictions and his mother’s passing. 

One day the twins came back from school and a piano was there, against the wall in the living room, ready to be used. Aaron refused to use it for weeks, until Andrew decided to give it a try. He remembers saying it was out of boredom, however it might have been because Andrew wanted to stir up some competitiveness inside his brother. 

Having something to focus on, like music and sport, wasn’t so bad to get Andrew’s mind off subjects he didn’t want to talk about. So maybe, just maybe, it could help Aaron for a second, make him look less like a ghost and more like something alive and made of flesh. Weirdly enough, it did work out.

One evening when Nicky went out to buy groceries and Andrew was doing some German homework, Aaron had sat on the piano bench. He had completely ignored his brother, clearly trying to play the song Andrew learned that week. So Andrew kept playing, and Aaron kept trying to reach the same level as Andrew when Nicky was out working or doing other stuff. 

Andrew reaches out, playing the right hand of one of the songs he recalls being similar to the one Aaron was playing when he entered the house. “Is this the same artist?” Andrew asks, pretty sure his twin will remember it; after all, it was one of his favorite ones. 

Aaron, watching above his shoulder, finally turns around to face the keyboard. “Yeah, they released some new stuff recently.” Aaron pushes Andrew’s hand away with two taps, placing his hands back on the keys and resuming the song that welcomed Andrew. It’s played with enough ease that, somehow, Andrew knows Aaron didn’t stop practicing completely in the past years. 

They stay like that for a little, Aaron’s fingers moving with dexterity while Andrew observes and memorizes the notes. It’s familiar, enough so that Andrew feels himself relaxing for the first time today; having people telling you happy birthday when you often regret the day you were born isn’t on his list of good days. Maybe he could mention it to Bee.

“Move,” Andrew commands, sitting beside his brother on the used bench. There is some of the fake leather sticking to his pants and falling on the ground the moment he puts his butt on it. As if reading his thoughts, Aaron removes his hands and moves farther on the side, to give some space to his brother. 

At first, Andrew tries the song slowly, but the second time he picks up the pace.

“Fuck you,” Aaron huffs, forever annoyed at Andrew’s ability to remember a song so easily. 

“You just have to pick up something harder next time,” Andrew retorts, avoiding to look at his twin’s face as he mentions the possibility of another time. 

As he hits the last note, Andrew removes his left hand, placing his right one at if to play the first notes. It takes a few seconds for Aaron to realise his brother is asking him to play with him. 

“What are we? Teenagers?” Aaron’s speciality is to look annoyed at everything Andrew asks him, even when he’s ready to do it. In less than a minute, Aaron places his left hand, beginning the song, knowing Andrew will follow. 

They did that a lot in the past, and Andrew thinks one of the main reasons they stopped was because of the medication he was on: no way he would have had the focus for this then. 

“You did that note wrong,” Aaron says, kicking him lightly on the ankle with the side of his foot. 

“You play all wrong,” Andrew answers, knowing he did hit that note wrong. 

Aaron opens his mouth to answer, but the sound of Andrew’s car entering the house entrance makes him close it again. Instead, Aaron kicks his brother again, getting up from the bench to go sit on the couch, picking up his phone. 

Knowing Neil and Nicky will soon enter the house, Andrew also gets up from the piano bench, placing it back how it always is. He also shakes his pants a bit for the black bits to fall on the ground before going to the patio door at the back of the house, opening it to smoke. The fresh air is welcome on his skin, and he lights his cigarette right at the moment Neil and Nicky enter by the front door. 

“I’m not singing, it’s bad enough that you made me drive for this,” Neil says to Nicky in the entrance, which confirms that they both used Andrew’s car to go get a cake. 

“Shhhh, Neil!” Nicky answers too loudly to be really whispering, and therefore everything but subtle. 

“Nicky, nobody thinks this is a surprise.” Neil sighs, and Andrew knows he’s coming toward him by the sound of his footsteps. 

Andrew blows some smoke in Neil’s face the moment he’s beside him, earning himself a glare. In retaliation, Neil steals the cigarette, only to open the mosquito net and throw it outside. Andrew raises an eyebrow and shrugs.

“If our backward catches fire and burn all of the neighborhood, I'll make sure to turn you in,” Andrew comments without much heat in his voice, glancing toward the kitchen because of all the noises Nicky is making. 

Neil hums carelessly, “No, you actually won’t.” 

“Don’t test me,” Andrew answers, knowing full well he wouldn’t turn Neil in. He doesn’t care if the neighborhood burns, he would hide Neil if needed. He leans forward to steal a kiss, moving to the table when Nicky comes out with a monstrosity of a cake in his hands, looking half disappointed he can’t make it a surprise.

When Aaron joins them, he glances at Andrew with a surprised look, before bringing back his attention to what Nicky is holding. “What the fuck is this?” He asks, mirroring Andrew’s thoughts.

Half of the cake is covered with glazed chocolate, cream on top and some crushed nuts on the side, while the other half has a thin layer of white frosting, with blueberries on top. Both don’t fit together: the chocolate part is bigger and has started melting a bit, while the other side looks pristine. There is also a weird orange frosting in the middle to put both sides together. Neil probably chose that damn color.

“It’s a chocolate hazelnut cake and a lemon blueberry cake!” Nicky answers proudly, even though he winces a bit while looking back at the result. “It was supposed to look better, but at least it should taste fine,” he pauses, “I hope.”

“You usually only buy a chocolate one,” Aaron mentions, frowning at the birthday cake. At least Nicky knows them enough to not have added any writing on top of it. 

“Neil told me you would prefer it if it was a fruit-flavored cake,” Nicky answers, earning himself Neil’s elbow in the ribs. 

“Katelyn told me when she met me at the library,” Neil explains, looking slightly annoyed. “She just talks a lot, I didn’t ask.” 

Andrew rolls his eyes. He didn’t expect Neil to do something for Aaron, but the annoyance he’s showing at having been caught is pretty childish. And endearing, if he’s being honest. 

“Let’s just eat that cake. If one of you sings, I'm cutting your tongue.” The treat is mostly directed towards Nicky, who sighs, but puts the plates for the cake in front of them as they sit down. 

“Happy birthday, anyway,” Nicky mumbles, making Neil’s mouth twitch at Nicky’s inability to hold it in. 

The twins exchange a look, used to it by now, and Aaron kicks Andrew under the table. 

With Neil beside him, the ugly cake in front of them and the song he played with Aaron, Andrew thinks that maybe this birthday isn’t so shitty. 

Not that he’ll admit it to anyone.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted soft twinyards ok, thank you.
> 
> A comment or a kudos can mean the world!
> 
> You can find me here:  
> Twitter : [Lav_ende](https://twitter.com/lav_ende)  
> Tumblr : [Lav-ende](https://lav-ende.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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